Windows 7: I don't see the advantage of running x64

I made a partition and loaded x86 (32 bit) and a x64 (64 bit). While I do understand that most software is not yet optimized for x64, I do not see any performance difference at all between the two.



Is there some "secret switch" I'm missing, or what is all this x64 hype about? What am I not seeing here?

There should be little/no difference in application performance between 32 and 64 bit in 32 bit apps. Native 64 bit apps should run faster than their 32 bit bretheren. (...and I say "should" because of the vaguaries and skill involved in writing efficient code, and what the application happens to do. )

The primary advantage from and end user's point of view lies in the amount of resource 64 bit is able to utilize. i.e. if you want SLI/Crossfire and/or 4GB of memory or more, then you're basically forced to use a 64 bit version of the operating system.



Great Article on the Where’s Why’s and Benefits of a 64 bit OS and Memory:
Gamasutra - Features - Sponsored Feature: RAM, VRAM, and More RAM: 64-Bit Gaming Is Here

Who Ate My Memory
Where are we going, and what's with the handbasket? : Who ate my memory?

Phoronix comparison of 32 bit, 32 bit PAE, and 64 bit kernels
[Phoronix] Ubuntu 32-bit, 32-bit PAE, 64-bit Kernel Benchmarks

It is partly hype and the neccessity to use x64 for RAM sizes 4GB and up. But I made the same observation as you have - there is really no perceived performance gain. I noticed, however, that certain programs do not run in x64 (e.g. my favorite free REVO uninstaller which works only with x86 program files and a few sidebar gadgets).

Thanks for the quick replies to both of you. Makes me feel a little better. One of the programs I tried using was Vegas 9, which should work fine in x64 but was nothing but problems. I had to reinstall Vegas 8 and it has a bug here or there, but it mostly works fine, though I can not use Magic Bullet on the x64 side and that has some killer looks.

@ Scotteq - I didn't know that about x64 and crossfire. Thanks for that info.

It's not a 'necessity' to go 64 bit for Crossfire/SLI, but understand that all of the devices on your computer (Bios, communications, installed devices, etc) consume a certain amount of address space. 32 bit Windows can only address 4GB worth of whatever. And the more you load the computer with, the less space is available. And that comes out of system RAM, since this must be fully mapped and therefore requires an equivalent amount of address space. So, if you install 4GB of memory, then 32 bit Windows will use less than the full 4GB because of the address space required for everything else.

When you make the jump to 64 bit, the amount of available address space increases to 128GB, rather than just 4. This limit is artificial and can be changed my Microsoft should they choose to do so. But for desktop usage, this "limit" is unreachable with present hardware anywhow.

Although for Vista this link may be of interest, as most applies to Windows 7 too ....

64-bit: More than just the RAM - Vista Forums

Very interesting link. Thanks Barman.

I am using free Revo uninstaller on Windows 7 Home Premium x64 and it runs flawlessly.

Yes it does. But did you notice that it can only remove programs from the x86 program files.

Hi whs,

This seems to do the job with 64 bit apps. Advanced Uninstaller Free.

Most people won't see any advantage in switching to 64 bit - maybe in a the future, but by then you'll have a new machine and windows 8 - or maybe windows 9.